With temperatures rising, local athletes hydrate to combat summer heat

With the summer heat really coming into full swing these past few weeks, safety is often the concern with coaches and athletes alike.

The weather may be lovely, bright and even inviting for us to go out and enjoy this great state, but it’s also a time where the heat can become too much. It’s a time to stay hydrated and not overwork ourselves.

Every summer, this is what athletes go through — work and play midday with the sun beating on their backs.

“The heat can make it tough, but as long as I can stick to the shade and keep drinking water, I should be fine,” said Sumner High’s Josh Riley at Fife’s football camp a few weeks back.

Tough and downright unbearable at times. Take the 51 st annual East/West All-Star football game held July 3 at Central Valley High in Spokane.

Emerald Ridge High’s Brandon Carter and Puyallup High’s Brady Winter both represented the area and the Class 4A South Puget Sound League at the game. Heading east of Washington in the summer can be harsh on the body.

What they learned is that east of the Cascade Mountains can be very unkind.

“It was very hot and made it uncomfortable at times,” Winter said. “We had to drink as much water as we could during practice.”

Those days out at Spokane left all players drained as near 100-degree temperatures make awful conditions for any athlete to play in. Let alone football players in full gear.

“It was too hot that weekend,” Carter said. “It made you feel miserable … the game was fun, but it was like 125-degrees on the field, they said. Going through that wasn’t fun.”

But they went through it and came back with strong memories.

It’s funny how the biggest change for Brendan Illies this summer hasn’t been adjusting to the University of North Carolina’s academic standards or to what the program expects of him. Those are easy adjustments.

No, it’s the blasted heat — the kind that instantly sticks on you once you step outside.

“The humidity has been the hardest thing adjust to,” Illies said. “It makes you feel miserable, but it’s something I’ll have to get used to the next (3 to 4) years.”

Get used to it, but stay smart, Illies added, as keeping hydrated has been his biggest task outside of workouts and studies.

While Puyallup, Sumner and Bonney Lake get blasted by some incredible weather, stay smart out there and keep hydrated.